Christos Hatzis bio

With two recent Juno awards and a SOCAN Award to his credit, along with a large number of recent commissions by internationally recognized touring artists – violinist Hilary Hahn, percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, soprano Suzie Leblanc, flutist Susan Hoeppner, the Pacifica Quartet and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, as well as pop celebrities such as George Dalaras, Sarah Slean and Steven Page, to name just a few – Christos Hatzis is widely recognized as “one of the most important composers writing today” (CBC) and "a contemporary Canadian master" (New Yorker). The large number of performances and CD recordings of his music for Naxos, EMI, Analekta, Sony, CBC (and other major and independent labels, as well as wide internet distribution of his audio playlist – over 1,700,000 hits since 2008) have garnered a loyal international following for his music.

Recent and current work includes:

the premiere and US and European tour of Coming To and Dystopia by violinist Hilary Hahn

Lamento, a song cycle for pop singer Sarah Slean and Symphony Nova Scotia in April

Departures, Hatzis' second flute concerto, which premiered in August 2011 with Susan Hoeppner and the Kyoto Symphony, and in September with Patrick Gallois and the Thessaloniki State Orchestra; it will be recorded for upcoming CD releases in 2012.

Recent and upcoming orchestral tours include:

Hatzis' Telluric Dances with the Thessaloniki State Orchestra, which culminated in a concert at the Herod Atticus open amphitheatre at the foothill of the Acropolis in Athens last June

Mirage? with Dame Evelyn Glennie and the Berlin Chamber Orchestra in October

Pyrrichean Dances, with the Wiener Concert Verein in November.

Hatzis’ music is influenced by early Christian spirituality, Pythagorean and Hermetic ideas, his own Byzantine music heritage, world cultures and religions, and various classical, jazz and pop music idioms from the past and present. He is a believer in borderless culture and the uninhibited flow of cultural information. A professor of composition at the University of Toronto, Hatzis writes extensively on these and other related subjects. His writings, audio playlists and other information about the composer are available at www.hatzis.com